Why Overhead Bins Should Be Locked

Footage of passengers opening the overhead compartment during an airplane evacuation has officials calling for reform.

Last week, after all 300 passengers and crew on board an Emirates plane that crash-landed in Dubai were able to safely exit the plane, footage soon emerged of many of the very same passengers opening overhead bins and attempting to grab their carry-on luggage as the cabin filled with smoke. This was not an isolated incident: Despite warnings during in-flight safety briefings to leave all personal belongings behind in the event of an emergency, a 2000 study by National Transportation Safety Board found that nearly 50 percent of people in a commercial airplane evacuation had tried to take a bag.

Attempting to retrieve carry-on luggage in an emergency is a serious safety threat, and can take precious time off an evacuation time where literally every second counts. Bags slow people down and clog the exits, and they can even puncture an emergency slide. Some officials advocate for making it a crime to grab a bag when evacuating, likening it to smoking on an aircraft, which the FAA banned in 1990. Others have suggested tighter restrictions on the sheer number of bags on board, and studies have shown that removing baggage fees, upping carousel delivery times, and guaranteeing delivery would encourage more travelers to check their bags. Now, some experts are calling for something else entirely: locking overhead bins.

Here's how it would work: During the flight, passengers would still have access to their bags, unless the "fasten seat belt" light was on. As the plane prepares for landing, overhead bins would also be locked by the flight deck, which would both serve to prevent passengers from getting up when they shouldn't and deter them from attempting to grab their bag during an emergency landing. Bins would be redesigned so that there is an LED light that glows red when it's locked, then turns green when it's unlocked. Presumably, this would also help keep people from jumping up the second the plane lands in order to retrieve their bag.

Despite the advantages of this solution, critics point out that passengers in a high-stress environment like an emergency may just waste more time trying to force locked bins open during an evacuation. (There are no currently plans to refit any system in this way.) Yet regardless of the pros and cons, detractors and proponents of overhead compartment solutions are in clear agreement: something must be done.